Vehicle door lock construction



April 29, 1941. e. M. NYQUIST 2,240,412

VEHICLE DOOR LOCK CONSTRUCTION Filed July 21, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet l Georye M Nyyaz's? 3,4 M Q ZZW April 29, 1941. e. M. NYQUIST VEHICLE DOOR LOCK CONSTRUCTION Filed July 21, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 QZW-wWnm Patented Apr. 29, 1941 VEHICLE noon LOCK CONSTRUCTION George M. Nyquist, Detroit, Mich asslgnor to ck Company, Detroit, Mich a corporation of Michigan Application July 21, 1939, Serial No. 285,782

12 Claims. (Cl. 70-211) The present invention relates to vehicle door lock constructions and more particularly to lock constructions for vehicle doors such as doors for delivery vehicles, which are comparatively thin, although it is not limited to this use.

Although satisfactory locks have been heretofore proposed for comparatively thick vehicle doors, such as are employed on pleasure vehicles, they require a long hub portion of comparatively large diameter, which makes it impractical to incorporate them in the comparatively thin doors of delivery vehicles and the like, with the result that the doors of this class of vehicle are usually not provided with looks at all or else are provided with complicated expensive lock constructions which have not proven altogether satisfactory.

It is accordingly the major object of this invention to provide novel lock constructions tor thin vehicle doors, which are highly eflicient and yet simple'and rugged in design. V A further important object is to provide a lock mechanism operable exteriorly of the vehicle door for directly contacting the inside door lever and locking it against unlatching movement,

Another object is to provide an inertia-controlled locking device for automatically locking the inside door lever against movement when the door is closed with a predetermined force.

A further object is to provide a door with a .slidable plunger and a spring for locking the inside door handle against operation, and to so design the parts that the spring functions both to directly engage the door lever and to return the plunger to unlocked position.

Another object is to provide the inside door lever of a vehicle with means for selectively engaging it and locking it against unlatching movement and to so design the door lever that it may be manually manipulated from the inside of the vehicle to render the locking means ineffective.

rlglit hand side door, with the parts in locked position;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 1-4 of Figure 3, and shows one of the latches for holding the door in closed position;

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of Figure 3, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken along the line 8-8 of Figures 3 and 5, illustrating the parts as they appear when viewed in the direction of the arrows, the position of door II when in closed position being indicated by phantom lines;

Figure 7 is a fragmental sectional view showing the inside door lever, and is taken substantially along the line 1-1 of Figure 3, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 8 is a sectional view of the lock plunger mechanism, and is taken substantially along the line 8-8 of Figure 3;

Figure 9 is a sectional view through the lock mechanism and is taken substantially along the line 9-8 of Figures 3 and 10; and

Figure 10 is a sectional view through the lock mechanism taken along the line ill-l0 of Figure 3.

With continued reference to the drawings, wherein like reference characters have been employed to designate like parts throughout the several views thereof, and with particular reference to Figure 1, I have illustrated my invention as being applied to the door of a delivery vehicle A, having a door opening l0. Hinged to the rear edge of the door opening is a folding door section H, and hinged to its free edge is a second folding door section l2.

As seen in Figure 2, when the door is unlocked, the door sections hinge upon each other and swing together about the rear edge of the door opening as an axis, and when they are in fully open position they lie parallel to each other against the side of the vehicle, with door section I2 outermost.

From door section I2 is provided at its top and bottom with a latch mechanism, but as they are identical in construction only the upper one will be described. Referring to Figure 4, mounted for sliding movement a bracket l3 secured inside door I2 is a bracket M, in which a latch bar i5 is mounted for sliding vertical movement. Secured to the upper end of rod l5 by means of a set screw it is a latch I1, and it is also mounted for sliding movement in a bracket l8. A coil compression spring l9 acting against bracket l4 constantly urges the latch and latch bar upwardly toward latching position.

Latch l1 cooperates with a keeper plate 2i which is secured to a bracket 22 by means of a pair of screws 23 and nuts 24.- Bracket. 22 has movement when latches I1 are disposed behind their keepers 2|, and by moving the latches upwardly and downwardly respectively against the action of compression springs IS, the door may be unlatched and opened.

Latch rods I 5 each extend into a latch bar operating mechanism casing C. Referring to Figure 5. casing C comprises a front plate 32 having flanged edges 33, and a cover plate 34. The parts are held in assembled relation to each other and to door l2 by means of a plurality of bolts 35 and nuts 36. Upper rod I5 is secured to a O-shaped member or yoke 38 and lower rod I6 is secured to a somewhat similarly shaped member 39.

Members 38 and 3 9 are actuated by means of a cam member 42 as seen in Figure 6, which is mounted for rocking movement in plates 32 and 84. Yoke members 38 and 39. embrace a cylindrical portion 4| provided on member 42.. Member 42 is provided with a pair of cams 43, which, as seen in Figure 5, cooperate with the horizontal portions of yoke members 38 and 39 to lift the lower latch member and depress the upper latch member when member 42 is rocked. Member 42 is actuated by means of a handle or outside door lever 45, which is journalled in a plate 46, and the latter is secured to the door and plate 32 by means of a pair of screws 41. Door handle 45 is square in cross-section and is provided with a hollow internally threaded stem 48, for a purpose which will now be described.

An inside door lever 49 is provided with a square opening 5| and permanently secured therein, as by peening, is a sleeve member 52, which is square in section. Sleeve 52 and extension 48'of handle 45, which is also square in section, extend into a square opening 53 in member 42, and are secured rigidly together in end-to-end relationship by means of a screw 54, which extends through sleeve 52 and is threaded into member 48.

The inside and outside door levers are accordingly rigidly secured together and to cam member 42, so that upon actuation of either of them, so as to rock the cam in a clockwise direction (Figure 3) will operate the latches and unlock the door.

As seen in Figures 5 and 6, door H is provided with an inner member 55 for reenforcing it and its front edge is doubled back upon itself at 56 'ing mechanism whichis usually associated with the doornandle and latch actuating shaft of pleasure vehicles cannot be used, due to the fact .that it is impossible to journal a shaft of any appreciable length in the door.

I have accordingly provided a novel locking mechanism which is mounted in the door inde pendently of the latch actuating mechanism and is adequately supported to resist the forces to which it is subjected in use. My device is located outside the door but cooperates directly with the inside door lever, and it is located a suflicient distance from the axis of rotation of the lever andwelded to a hinge member 51. Door I2 is also provided with an inner reenforcing member 58 and its rear edge is doubled back upon itself at 59 and welded to an angle member having a curved surface 6|, which extends over into contact with door II when the doors are in closed position so as to hide the hinged joint therebetween. Member 6| is in turn welded to a hinge member 62 which is connected to hinge member 51 by means of a hinge pin 63.

It will be apparent from the disclosure so far made that the doors of delivery vehicles are comparatively thin and that the conventional lockto make it unnecessary to employ massive parts for holding the latch shaft against rocking move ment. In other words, by providing a long lever arm adequate resistance to unlocking torque applied to the outer handle is afforded by a moderate force. This construction will now be described.

The novel locking construction comprises broadly a slidable plunger mounted in the door and operable from the outside with a key or the like, a leaf spring member mounted inside the door and operable to both urge the plunger towards unlocked position and also constituting an abutment which is disposed in the path of move ment of the inside door lever when the plunger is disposed in locking position.

Referring to Figures 3 and 7, the inside doo lever 49 carries a flat leaf spring-like member 65, which is secured thereto by a pair of rivets 66. Member 65 cooperates directly in abutting relation with the locking means hereinafter described, and it is provided with a reversely curved portion 81 constituting a handle by which it may be manually moved into the dotted line position shown in Figure 7.

Referring to Figure 8, the locking member also comprises a leaf spring-like member 68, which is secured to the inside of door l2 by means of a pair of screws 69. Screws 69 extend through openings in the inside member 58 and are threaded into a reenforcing member 1| located on the inner side thereof. Member 1| is provided with a flange portion 12 for properly spacing member 58 from door l2 proper and for strengthening the structure.

Member 68 is provided with a reversely bent portion 14 which forms an abutment for the inside door lever 49, and a foot portion 15, which engages the locking plunger designated as P.

From the structure so far described it is apparent that with member 68 disposed in the position shown in Figure 8, if outside door handle is grasped and an attempt made to unlatch the door, the inside door lever will strike abutment 14 of member 68 and positively lock the parts against movement. When the plunger P is moved into the dotted line position shown in Figure 8, member 68 will assume the dotted line position and be disposed out of the path of movement of inside door lever 49, with the result that either the inside or the outside door lever may be operated to unlatch the vehicle door. In the event that the operator should enter the vehicle with plunger P in locked position, and close the door, he may rasp extension 61 of member and flex the latter into the dotted line position shown in Figure 7, so that it can be actuated without striking member 68.

The locking plunger construction I preferably use is as follows: An opening 11 is provided in door l2 and a collar 18 is welded between door I2 and member 58 in alignment with opening 11, as shown in Figure 8. A smaller diameter openmember 8|.

ing 18 is provided in member 58 for a purpose that will presently appear.

A generally cylindrical body member 8| closely fits within opening-11 and collar 18 and is disposed in abutting relation with wall 58. It is preferably secured in place by a plurality of screws 82, which pass through openings in member 58 and are threaded into the body.

Plunger P is slldably mounted within member 8| and is provided with a closed bottom 84. The range of sliding movement of plunger P is determined by a screw 85, which is threaded into the plunger body, carries a pair of lock washers 88 and cooperates in sliding engagement with the wall of a longitudinal recess 81 provided in body Plunger P may accordingly undergo limited longitudinal movement with respect to the body member but it cannot rotate therein by virtue of screw 85 engaging the walls of slot 81.

Slidably mounted in the plunger is a lock bolt 88 which cooperates with a recess 88 formed in body member 8|. Lock bolt 88 is urged towards locking relationship with opening 88 by means the bottom of a recess 82 formed in the plunger. As will be apparent from the drawings, when lock bolt 88 is disposed in locking cooperation with opening 88, plunger P will be disposed in the locking position shown in Figure 8.

Lock bolt 88 is controlled by a lock barrel 83, which is mounted for limited rocking movement within plunger Hand is retained against removal therefrom by means of a set screw 84, which is threaded into the plunger. The end of lock barrel 83 is formed with an offset projection 85, which cooperates with a notch in look bolt 88 to retract the latter against the'action of spring 8| when the lock barrel is rocked. Lock barrel 83 is normally locked against the rotation within the plunger by any well known tumbler construction, and is unlocked by means of a key 86 in a well known manner. Since the key and tumbler construction is one well known in the art and is not claimed per se, it will not be further described.

Taking up the operation of the lock mechatherear doors of delivery vehicles or in other of a compression spring 8|, which seats against doors wherein the inside door lever is not normally manually grasped and actuated to unlock the door. struction the inside door lever may be made rigid, since it need not be flexed to release an operator from the interior of the vehicle, but if desired it may be made flexib1e,-1ike lever 85 of the constructionshown in Figure 7, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Although I have shown my lock mechanism embodied in a double pivoted door assembly, it is to be understood that it may be embodied in a single pivoted door or a sliding door without departing from the spirit of the invention. Also,

if it is used with a sliding door and it is desired scription, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by United States Letters Patent, is:

nism, and assuming that the parts are in the position shown in Figure 8, with the door closed, it cannot be opened without the use of key 86, because inside door handle 48 will strike abutment 14 if an attempt is made to open it by rocking handle 45. Upon inserting key 88 into lock barrel 83 and rocking it'through a predetermined angle the part 85 thereof will draw lock bolt 88 from opening 88 and allow spring 68 to return plunger P to the dotted line position shown in Figure 8. The door may now be unlatched from either side.

My novel construction also possesses that further advantage that the plunger constitutes an inertia controlled means for automatically locking'the door when the latter is slammed" or closed with a predetermined force. For instance, assuming that the door is open, and plungerP 18 disposed in the dotted line (unlocked) position shown in Figure 8, if the door is swung closed with sufficient force plunger P has suflicient mass which manifests itself as inertia and moves into the full line (locked) position of Figure 8 against the action of spring 88. Of course, the door may be locked at any other time by merely depressing plunger P into its full line position in Figures 8 and 9 as spring 8| will urge lock bolt 88 into opening 88.

1. For use with a door mounted for opening and closing movement with respect to a door opening and having a latch mechanism for holding it in closed position and a shaft projecting from the inside to the outside of said door and being operable to actuate said latch mechanism when it is rocked; an inside door lever and an outside door lever rigidly mounted on said shaft; a barrel mounted for sliding movement in said door adjacent said shaft in a direction substantially parallel thereto; a spring member mounted inside said door and engaging said barrel so as r to resiliently urge the latter toward unlocking position; abutment means on said spring member for engaging and restraining said inside lever against unlatching movement when said barrel is in looking position, and means for locking said barrel in locking position.

2. The device defined in claim 1, wherein said inside door lever is provided with a resilient portion cooperating with said spring member, whereby the free end thereof may be manually flexed in a plane normal to said door and withdrawn from looking cooperation with said spring member, so as to unlock the door from the inside.

3. The device defined in claim 1, wherein said spring member comprises a flat leaf spring secured at one end to said door and having its free end directly engaging said barrel.

4. The device defined in claim 1, wherein said spring member comprises a fiat cantilever spring secured at one end to said door and having its free end engaging said barrel, said spring being substantially tangentially disposed with respect to the are of rotation defined by the locking per- My novel lock mechanism may alsobe used in tion of said inside door handle.

5. A lock construction, adapted for use with a door hinged for swinging cooperation with a door opening and having latch mechanism for holding it in closed position; a shaft adapted to be journalled in said door remote from the hinge thereof and operable to actuate said latch mechanism when it is rocked; an inside lever It is to be understood that in this coni and an outside lever rigidly mounted on said shaft; and inertia-controlled locking means mounted on said door and embodying a locking member mounted for movement in a direction substantially normal to said door and tending to lie out of the path of movement of said inside lever, said locking means having suflicient part projectible into the path of rocking movement of said inside leverto lock, the same; and

inertia to project said locking member into the v path of said inside lever when said door is swung toward closed position with a predetermined force.

6. In a door lock, a door latch-controlling shaft journalled in a door or the like, an outside lever and an insidelever rigidly mounted on said shaft, a cantilever spring secured at one end to the inside of saiddoorand having an abutment at its free end for locking cooperation with said inside lever, said spring being normally urged out of the path of movement of said inside lever, and. locking meansQoperable from the outside of said door, for projecting said spring into the path of said inside lever, to thereby lock the latter against movement.

'7. The device defined in claim 6 wherein said inside lever comprises a resiliently yieldable portion cooperating with said spring which may be manually fiexedout of locking engagement with said spring to unlock the door from the inside.

8. The device defined in claim 6, wherein said locking means comprises a plunger mounted for sliding movement in a direction substantially parallel to said shaft and having means for looking it in projected position.

9. The device defined in claim 6, wherein said locking means comprises a plunger slidably mounted in a socket in said door, and said spring is provided with a finger portion extending into said socket in contacting relation to said plunger.

10. For use with a door mounted for opening and closing -movement with respect to a door frame and having a latch mechanism cooperatmeans for locking said lock assembly part in projected position, said lock assembly comprising a lock barrel and a spring for urging the same out of projected position, said spring having an abutment face cooperating in contacting relationship to said inside door lever.

11. A look construction adapted for use with a door hinged for swinging cooperation with a door opening and having latch mechanism for holding it in closed position; a shaft adapted to be journalled in said door remote from the hinge thereof and operable to actuate said latch mech-' anism when it is rocked; an inside lever and an- '12. For use with a door mounted for opening and closing movements with respect to a door frame and having a mechanism cooperating with said door frame to lock the door against opening movement and a shaft extending from the outside to the inside of said door for operating said latch mechanism, an inside lever and an outside lever mounted on said shaft for rocking with said door frame to lock the door against V opening movement and a shaft extending from the outside to the inside of said door for operating said latch mechanism, an inside lever and an outside lever mounted on said shaft for rocking the'same, a lock assembly mounted on said door; means mounting a part of said lock assembly for sliding movement in a direction substantially normal to said door, and having a ing the same; a lock assembly mounted on said door; means mounting a part of said lock assembly for sliding movement in a direction substantially normal to said door and having a part projectible intothe path of rocking movement of said inside lever to lock the same; and means for locking said lock assembly parts in projected position, said inside lever having a resiliently yieldable portion cooperating with said sliding part'of said lock assembly, whereby it may be manually flexed out of locking engagement with said part to unlock the door from the inside.

GEORGELM. NY' ins'r. 

